Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Escape Velocity | 2012 | Charles Portis | Buy |
Escape Velocity (2012) gathers Charles Portis’s non-fiction and shorter writing into a single volume. The collection includes journalism from his years as a newspaper reporter, travel writing, and short fiction, giving readers a fuller picture of Portis beyond his five novels.
Much of the material in Escape Velocity had been difficult to track down before this collection. Portis worked as a reporter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and the New York Herald Tribune in the 1960s, and some of that journalism appears here alongside his magazine writing. The book was compiled by Jay Jennings.
Portis published only five novels in his lifetime, so this collection is valuable for fans who want more of his writing. His dry humor and sharp eye for regional American life come through in the shorter pieces just as clearly as in True Grit or The Dog of the South.